SARANGANI, Philippines – Four days after a powerful earthquake shook parts of Mindanao on June 8, the extent of destruction continues to unfold across the region.

Mindanao State University-General Santos City (MSU-GenSan) is reeling from campus infrastructure damage initially estimated at nearly P870 million, Chancellor Shidik Zed Abantas said in an interview with Rappler.

The figure reflects the scale of rebuilding for damaged academic buildings, administrative offices, and student facilities across the campus. 

“For the first time, our earthquake-tested buildings showed weakness when faced with a magnitude 7.8 earthquake,” Abantas wrote on Facebook.

The damage is particularly painful for university administrators who had spent years rehabilitating campus facilities. According to Abantas, nearly 90% of the offices had already undergone repairs and renovations before the earthquake struck.

“Sayang lang (Such a waste). We have managed to repair and renovate close to 90% of our offices,” he said. “Back to zero tayo (We’re back to zero).”

Abantas told Rappler that academic activities will continue but summer classes will shift online while repairs and safety assessments are ongoing. 

University records show that MSU-GenSan serves about 9,500 students across nine colleges and one institute, including more than 8,600 undergraduates. Situated on a 162.4-hectare campus in Barangay Fatima, General Santos City, the university is one of the region’s major state institutions with students not only from the city but also from neighboring provinces.

Off-limits

Among the university’s most pressing concerns is the fate of the Y-Building, a 47-year-old structure that houses several key administrative offices. The building, which serves as the center of the university’s day-to-day operations, was officially declared off-limits by authorities on June 9. 

“Without it, we cannot operate,” said Abantas.

With the building deemed unsafe, university personnel began retrieving documents and equipment and transferring offices to temporary workspaces at the Science and Technology Training Center.

Even as relocation efforts continue, the university’s attention has shifted to ensuring the safety of its remaining structures. Abantas said there are ongoing monitoring and inspections as the administration works to procure materials needed for urgent repairs.

“As much as possible, we want to save our buildings and we need the experts,” Abantas added. 

Salvageable structure

Despite the scale of destruction, university administration said some of the most severely affected buildings remain structurally salvageable. 

Abantas said in a Facebook post on June 9 that initial engineering assessments found that the four-story College of Medicine building remained structurally sound despite sustaining extensive “architectural damage.”

“Initial reports from our engineers indicate that while the College of Medicine building remains structurally stable, it has suffered massive architectural damage,” the chancellor said. 

The College of Medicine building is located in MSU-GenSan’s College of Education Training Department campus in the city’s downtown, 24 kilometers from the main campus. 

Rather than requiring complete reconstruction, the building can still undergo rehabilitation and strengthening measures to restore its functionality and improve its resilience against future seismic events, said Abantas. 

“Our building is definitely not lost,” Abantas added.

Help needed

Abantas said they seek help from the national government to get MSU-GenSan back on its feet.

“We need close to a billion to get back to normal. So we will be urging the national agencies to help. MSU-GenSan, more than ever, needs help to be able to stand again,” he said.

As the university moves forward with recovery efforts, national officials are expected to assess the extent of the damage firsthand. Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley Agrupis is scheduled to visit the campus on June 13.

Abantas said the university administration is finalizing a comprehensive damage assessment report for submission to CHED, the Department of Budget and Management, and Malacañang. 

The report is expected to form the basis of the university’s request for funding assistance. — Rappler.com

Rey Mark Paran is a senior statistics student at the University of the Philippines Visayas. An alumnus of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2025, he is also the managing editor of Pagbutlak.